Classroom Resources to Teach AP Macroeconomics

The lessons, articles, videos, podcasts, and online learning modules listed below are aligned with the College Board’s AP Macroeconomics Curriculum. A complete syllabus of these resources is available in Econ Lowdown.

Unit 1 Basic Economics Concepts

1.1 Scarcity

  • Page One Economics “Choices Are Everywhere: Why Can't We Just Have It All?”
    Reading Q&A | Article
  • Planet Money “Improving the Absenteeism Rate at Work”
    Audio Q&A
  • Economic Lowdown Video “There is No Such Thing as a Free Lunch”
    Video Q&A | Video

1.2 Opportunity Cost and the Production Possibilities Curve (PPC)

  • Economic Lowdown Podcast “Opportunity Cost”
    Audio Q&A | Audio
  • Economic Lowdown Video “The Production Possibilities Frontier”
    Video Q&A | Video
  • Page One Economics “Money and Missed Opportunities”
    Reading Q&A | Article

1.3 Comparative Advantage and Gains from Trade

  • Planet Money “The Cheapest Place to Make a T-Shirt”
    Audio Q&A
  • Comparative Advantage Lesson
    Lesson
  • Active Lesson Trading Pizzas and Brownies
    Lesson
  • Page One Economics “Does International Trade Create Winners and Losers?”
    Reading Q&A | Article

1.4 Demand

1.5 Supply

1.6 Market Equilibrium, Disequilibrium, and Changes in Equilibrium

Unit 1 Culminating Active Lesson

  • Structured Minimum Wage Debate
    Lesson

Unit 2 Economic Indicators and the Business Cycle

2.1 The Circular Flow and GDP

  • Economic Lowdown Video “Circular Flow Model”
    Video Q&A | Video
  • Page One Economics “How Do Imports Affect GDP?”
    Reading Q&A | Article
  • Active Lesson “The GDP Expenditures Equation: What Is GDP and How Do We Measure It?”
    Lesson
  • Econ Lowdown “GDP and Pizza Video Explainers”
    8 Video Q&As
  • Econ Lowdown Online Learning “GDP: What is it?”
    Online Module
  • Econ Lowdown Online Learning “GDP: Measurement and Growth”
    Online Module

2.2 Limitations of GDP

2.3 Unemployment

  • Econ Lowdown Online Learning “Measuring Unemployment”
    Online Module
  • Econ Lowdown Online Learning “Types of Unemployment”
    Online Module
  • Page One Economics “Making Sense of Unemployment Data”
    Reading Q&A | Article
  • Page One Economics “Why Scarce Resources Are Sometimes Unemployed”
    Reading Q&A | Article
  • Active Lesson Plan “How Do We Measure Unemployment?”
    Lesson
  • Economic Lowdown Video “Unemployment”
    Video Q&A | Video

2.4 Price Indices and Inflation

  • Econ Lowdown Online Learning “Inflation”
    Online Module
  • Economic Lowdown Video “Inflation”
    Video Q&A | Video
  • Active Lesson “Inflation Auction”
    Lesson
  • Active Lesson “The Market Basket”
    Lesson

2.5 Costs of Inflation

  • Page One Economics “The Great Inflation: A Historical Overview and Lessons Learned”
    Reading Q&A | Article
  • Timely Topics Video “Purchasing Power”
    Video Q&A | Video

2.6 Real v. Nominal GDP

  • GDP and Pizza Video Series “Real vs. Nominal GDP”
    Video Q&A | Video

2.7 Business Cycles

  • Classroom Economics “The Business Cycle”
    Video Q&A
  • Jargon Alert: Business Cycles
    Reading Q&A
  • Economic Lowdown Podcast “The Business Cycle”
    Audio Q&A | Audio
  • Page One Economics “Minding the Output Gap: What Is Potential GDP and Why Does It Matter?”
    Reading Q&A | Article

Unit 3 National Income and Price Determination

3.1 Aggregate Demand (AD)

  • FED FAQ Video “What is Aggregate Demand?”
    Video Q&A
  • Econ Lowdown “Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply: Positive Demand Shock”
    Video Q&A
  • Econ Lowdown “Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply: Negative Demand Shock”
    Video Q&A

3.5 Equilibrium in the Aggregate Demand-Aggregate Supply (AD-AS) Model

  • Econ Lowdown Online Learning “Long-Run Equilibrium”
    Online Module

3.7 Long-Run Adjustment

3.8 Fiscal Policy

  • Economic Lowdown Podcast “Fiscal Policy”
    Audio Q&A | Audio
  • Page One Economics “Individual Income Tax: The Basics and New Changes”
    Reading Q&A | Article
  • Planet Money “Public Goods and government spending”
    Audio Q&A | Planet Money Landing Page
  • Econ Lowdown Online Learning “Fiscal Policy: The Basics of Taxation and Government Spending”
    Online Module
  • Econ Lowdown Online Learning “Fiscal Policy: Tools for Influencing the Economy”
    Online Module

3.9 Automatic Stabilizers

Unit 4 Financial Sector

4.1 Financial Assets

  • No-Frills Money Skills Video “Understanding Bonds”
    Video Q&A | Video
  • No-Frills Money Skills Video “Get into Stocks”
    Video Q&A | Video
  • Page One Economics “Stock Market Strategies: Are You an Active or Passive Investor?”
    Reading Q&A | Article
  • Making Personal Finance Decisions: Evaluating Investment Options
    Lesson

4.2 Nominal v. Real Interest Rates

  • Economic Lowdown Podcast “Getting Real about Interest Rates”
    Audio
  • Active Lesson “Meeting Financial Goals- Rate of Return”
    Lesson
  • Fed FAQ Video “Why Do Interest Rates Matter?”
    Video Q&A

4.3 Definition, Measurement, and the Functions of Money

  • Page One Economics “Money and Inflation: A Functional Relationship”
    Reading Q&A | Article
  • Economic Lowdown Podcast “Functions of Money”
    Audio Q&A | Audio

4.4 Banking and the Expansion of the Money Supply

  • Active Lesson “Hamilton’s National Bank”
    Lesson
  • Page One Economics “Independence, Accountability, and the Federal Reserve System”
    Reading Q&A | Article

4.5 The Money Market

  • “U.S. Currency: Does the Fed Print Money?”
    Video Q&A

4.6 Monetary Policy

  • Lecture Guide “How the Federal Reserve Implements Monetary Policy”
    Guide
  • Economic Lowdown Videos “Monetary Policy”
    • Monetary Policy, part 1: The Fed and the Dual Mandate
      Video Q&A
    • Monetary Policy, part 2: Two Important Interest Rates in Monetary Policy Implementation
      Video Q&A
    • Monetary Policy, part 3: Reservation Rate and Arbitrage
      Video Q&A
    • Monetary Policy, part 4: The Fed in Action
      Video Q&A
    • All Videos
  • Fed Functions Video “Conducting Monetary Policy”
    Video Q&A
  • Page One Economics “How Does the Fed Use Its Monetary Policy Tools to Influence the Economy?”
    Reading Q&A | Article
  • Teaching the New Tools of Monetary Policy
    Teaching Resource Website

Unit 5 Long-Run Consequences of Stabilization Policies

5.2 The Phillips Curve

  • Page One Economics “Inflation Expectations, the Phillips Curve, and the Fed’s Dual Mandate”
    Reading Q&A | Article
  • Planet Money “The relationship between unemployment and inflation”
    Audio Q&A

5.3 Money Growth and Inflation

5.4 Government Deficits and the National Debt

  • Page One Economics “Making Sense of the National Debt”
    Reading Q&A | Article
  • Planet Money “Paying off the National Debt”
    Audio Q&A
  • Econ Lowdown Online Learning “Government Budgets”
    Online Module

5.5 Crowding Out

  • Active Lesson “Crowding Out”
    Lesson

5.6 Economic Growth

  • FRB San Francisco Economic Letter “Raising the speed limit on future growth”
    Reading Q&A
  • Page One Economics “What Are the ‘Ingredients’ for Economic Growth?”
    Reading Q&A | Article
  • Page One Economics “The Productivity Puzzle”
    Reading Q&A | Article
  • “What is productivity?”
    Video Q&A
  • Econ Lowdown Online Learning “Economic Growth”
    Online Module

5.7 Public Policy and Economic Growth

Unit 6 Open Economy- International Trade and Finance

6.1 Balance of Payments Accounts

  • Page One Economics “International Trade: Making Sense of the Trade Deficit”
    Reading Q&A | Article

6.2 Exchange Rates

6.4 Effect of Changes in Policies and Economic Conditions on the Foreign Exchange Market

Other Relevant AP Economics Resources

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Education Level: 9-12
Subjects: AP Economics ,  Economics
Resource Types: Publication ,  Lesson ,  Video ,  Podcast ,  Online Module ,  Activity
Languages: English
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